Power over network methods and systems

ABSTRACT

Methods and systems for providing electrical power over a network configured to facilitate digital communications are described herein. In different aspects, the methods and systems may include a service provider network module configured to facilitate digital communications and having an autonomous power supply, and a network connection device operably connected to the service provider network module. The network connection device may include at least one network connection port configured to receive electrical power; and a power switching module coupled to the at least one network connection port and configured to switch from a primary power source to enable the network connection device to receive electrical power from the service provider network module via the at least one network connection port when electrical power from the primary power source is interrupted.

CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATION

This application is a continuation of copending U.S. utility applicationentitled “POWER OVER NETWORK METHODS AND SYSTEMS,” having Ser. No.11/675,027, filed Feb. 14, 2007, which is entirely incorporated hereinby reference.

FIELD OF THE DISCLOSURE

The present disclosure relates to networking methods and systems, andmore specifically to methods and systems for providing electrical powerover a network.

BACKGROUND

A power outage typically results from an interruption to an electricalpower supply. Power outages may have varying durations spanning from afew seconds to many days. In some geographic regions, power outages mayoccur relatively frequently, such as monthly. Even in developed citieswith substantial infrastructure, power outages may frequently occur fora number of reasons, such as natural causes (e.g., wind storms, heavyrain or snow, etc.) or high demand on the electrical power supply (e.g.,air conditioners used during high temperatures which drain theelectrical power supply). The operation of many alternating current (AC)electrical devices may be disrupted when a power outage occurs despitethe existence of precautionary measures.

When an electrical power supply is disrupted, a number of undesirableevents may occur. For example, when some people lose power, they mayalso lose unsaved data on their computer or other electronic devices.Additionally, some people may experience a deactivation of their homesecurity system when their electrical power supply is interrupted. Theloss of data and the deactivation of electronic equipment may adverselyaffect a person in many ways such as by costing them time, money, andeven personal safety. Further, many people typically contact theirelectrical power supplier to report a power outage. A flow of calls toreport a power outage may create an additional drain on systemresources, require redundant activities, and may slow communications forreporting a power outage.

Some people may use uninterrupted power supply (UPS) devices to minimizesome of the adverse affects experienced during a power outage. However,UPS devices may be expensive, have limited power supply capacity, or maybe unreliable. Connecting a UPS device to all of a person's essentialelectronic devices may also be difficult or expensive.

The description below addresses these and other shortcomings in thepresent art.

SUMMARY

Methods and systems for providing power over a network are describedherein. In different aspects, the methods and systems may include aservice provider network module configured to facilitate digitalcommunications and having an autonomous power supply, and a networkconnection device operably connected to the service provider networkmodule. The network connection device may include at least one networkconnection port configured to receive electrical power and a powerswitching module coupled to the at least one network connection port.According to exemplary embodiments, the power switching module of thenetwork connection device is configured to switch from a primary powersource to enable the network connection device to receive electricalpower from the service provider network module via the at least onenetwork connection port when electrical power from the primary powersource is interrupted.

Additional methods for providing power over networks are describedherein. In some embodiments, the methods and systems may includeproviding a network access point, monitoring a primary electrical powerprovided by a primary power source to a network device coupled to thenetwork access point, when an interruption of the primary electricalpower is detected, switching to a secondary electrical power via thenetwork access point to the network device, when a reconnection of theprimary power source is detected, decoupling the secondary electricalpower from the network access point, and restoring the primaryelectrical power from the primary power source to the network device.

Other systems, methods, and/or computer program products according toembodiments will be or become apparent to one with skill in the art uponreview of the following drawings and detailed description. It isintended that all such additional systems, methods, and/or computerprogram products be included within this description, be within thescope of the present disclosure, and be protected by the accompanyingclaims.

BRIEF DESCRIPTIONS OF THE DRAWINGS

The teachings herein are described with reference to the accompanyingfigures.

FIG. 1 is a schematic of an overall environment in which a power overnetwork method or system may be organized.

FIG. 2 is a schematic providing further details of the overallconfiguration of providing power over network methods and systemsrelating to various electronic devices in connection to a networkprovider.

FIG. 3 is a schematic providing further details of another configurationof the overall environment shown in FIG. 1, relating to how a power overnetwork methods and systems may be organized.

FIG. 4 is a block diagram of an overall environment in which computingdevices interact between each other and how a power over network systemmay be organized.

FIG. 5 is a flow diagram of methods or systems of providing power overnetwork.

FIG. 6 is a flow diagram of additional methods or systems of providingpower over network.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

Network providers are capable of offering a number of services to theirnetwork subscribers, including their residential, educational,nonprofit, and business customers. Traditionally, network providers haveprimarily focused on providing access to computer and informationnetworks to their subscribers through a subscription based service.However, network providers have potential to deliver additional servicesto their subscribers. For example, network providers may also offertheir subscribers electrical power. Network providers may also measurethe use of electrical power by subscribers, and thus generate additionalrevenue for this service by charging customers for power consumption.

Network providers may disseminate information regarding power outages orinterruptions to other entities, and thus provide accurate reporting ofreadily obtained information. For example, an electrical power suppliermay benefit from information about locations that have been disconnectedfrom their services, including the time and status of the disconnection,in order to reconnect the locations with minimal cost and reduceddowntime for the customer. Additionally, when locations are disconnectedfrom power, the locations typically have to manually report thisinformation to the proper entities to request reconnection of theirelectrical power. The manual receipt of communications from multiplecustomers may drain system resources from some entities and oftenfrustrates customers. Monitoring by network providers may automaticallyfacilitate reporting of disconnected services to the proper entities andthus may expedite reconnection of services to the affected customers.

Methods and systems for providing electrical power over a network, or“power over network” methods and systems, are described herein. Manyspecific details of certain embodiments are set forth in the followingdescription and in FIGS. 1 through 6 to provide a thorough understandingof such embodiments.

FIG. 1 illustrates an overall environment 100 including a serviceprovider network 102. The service provider network 102 may include anaccess node 104 in connection to a network connection device 106 locatedat a customer premise 108. In some configurations, the service providernetwork 102 may include multiple access nodes 104, each includingmultiple network connection devices 106. The service provider network102 may be in communication with the access node 104 by a GigabyteEthernet (GE) network, asynchronous transfer mode (ATM) network, or anyother networking connection that may facilitate network communicationbetween the service provider network 102 and the access node 104.

The service provider network 102 may include power backup systems, suchas generators or backup batteries, to enable the service providernetwork 102 to maintain autonomous operation during a power outage.Therefore, if the access node 104 or the customer premise 108 were toexperience a power outage, the service provider network 102 may providepower to the access node 104, the customer premise 108, or both. In someconfigurations, the service provider network 102 may be located on adifferent power grid than the access node 104 or the customer premise108. Therefore, the service provider network 102 may provide power tothe access node 104 and the customer premise 108 without utilizing powerbackup systems.

As further shown in FIG. 1, the service provider network 102 maycommunicate with a network management system (NMS) 112 via acommunication link 110. The NMS 112 may include software, protocols,computer systems, and other elements to facilitate the communicationbetween the service provider network 102, the access nodes 104, and thenetwork connection device 106. For example, the NMS 112 may include aTR69 interface connection between the service provider network 102 andthe network connection device 106. Additionally, the NMS 112 may includean element management system (EMS) in communication with the access node104. The NMS 112 may communicate with the service provider network 102and monitor the network and power usage by the customer premise 108utilizing the resources of the service provider network 102 or theaccess node 104.

Similar to the service provider network 102, the access node 104 mayinclude power backup systems, such as generators or backup batteries, toenable the access node 104 to maintain autonomous operation during apower outage. Therefore, if the customer premise 108 were to experiencea power outage, the access node 104 may provide power to the customerpremise 108. In some configurations, the access node may be located on adifferent power grid than the customer premise 108. Therefore, theaccess node 104 may provide power to the customer premise 108 withoututilizing power backup systems or uninterrupted power supply (UPS)devices.

The access node 104 may be in connection with one or more networkconnection devices 106. The network connection device 106 may be amodem, receiver, or any other device that is connected to a network,such as the service provider network 102 through the access node 104.Although the access node 104 may be in communication with any number ofnetwork connection devices 106, in some embodiments the number ofnetwork connection devices 106 configured with the access node 104 maybe segmented. For example, the access node 104 may be configured withbetween five hundred and one thousand network connection devices 106. Inother embodiments, more or less network connection devices 106 may be incommunication with the access node 104. Further, access nodes 104 may beregionalized or provided for specific demographics, such as providing anaccess node 104 for a single neighborhood. Thus, the access node 104 mayservice an area containing a number of customer premises 108, includingany combination of residential homes, businesses, schools, governmentbuildings, or other locations were network subscribers utilize networkconnection devices 106. The network connection device 106 may besituated in any location operably connected with the access node 104.

In some embodiments, a power backup system 114 of the access nodes 104or the service provider network 102 may be configured to provideadequate backup power for a predetermined number of customer premises108 over a duration of time. For example, if the power backup system 114services one thousand customer premises 108 and a design specificationrecommends backup power for forty-eight hours, then the power backupsystem 114 may be selected or configured to provide the necessary powerbackup to service one thousand connected customers during a power outagelasting forty-eight hours.

With continued reference to FIG. 1, the customer premise 108 may includea number of network connection devices 106. Further, the customerpremise 108 may include a number of network enabled components (notshown) which connect to the network connection device 106. For example,a customer premise 108 may include a personal computer that is connectedto a network connection device 106 (e.g., a modem) to enableconnectivity to a computer or information network through the accessnode 104 (and ultimately the service provider network 102). The personalcomputer may also be connected to an electrical supply grid via anelectrical plug inserted into an electrical outlet in the customerpremise 108. An electrical power supplier 116 supplies electrical powerto the electrical grid, thus providing electrical power to networkenabled components including the network connection devices 106.

The electrical power supplier 116 provides electrical power to thecustomer premise 108 in a single direction 118, and is thusunidirectional from the electrical power supplier 116 to the customerpremise 108. Similarly, the communication between the electrical powersupplier 116 and the customer premise 108 is unidirectional in the samedirection 118. For example, if the power supply from the electricalpower supplier 116 is disconnected at a disconnection location 120, thecustomer premise 108 will experience an interruption of their powersupply. However, when such a disconnection occurs, the electrical powersupplier 116 typically may not readily determine that the customerpremise 108 has been disconnected. Traditionally, electric powersuppliers 116 monitor power use by customer premises 108 by reading theelectrical meters or gauges at the customer premise 108. Therefore,while the electrical power supplier 116 may eventually be able todetermine that a power outage has occurred at the customer premise 108,this information is usually not readily or immediately available.

In contrast to unidirectional communication between the electrical powersupplier 116 and the customer premise 108, the communication among theNMS 112, the service provider network 102, the access node 104, and thenetwork connection device 106 may be multidirectional. Morespecifically, in some embodiments, the communication link 110 betweenthe NMS 112 and the service provider network 102 is bidirectional, acommunication link 122 between the service provider network 102 and theaccess node 104 is bidirectional, and a communication link 124 betweenthe access node 104 and the network connection device 106 (and thus thecustomer premise 108) is bidirectional. For example, the communicationlinks 110, 122, 124 may transmit a message to the NMS 112 when a networkenabled component (not shown) in the customer premise 108 isdisconnected from its primary power source, such as the electrical powersupplier 116.

FIG. 2 illustrates an overall environment 200 including various networkenabled devices 202 in connection with the service provider network 102via the access node 104. In some embodiments, the network enableddevices 202 may be in connection with an uninterrupted power supply(UPS) 204. The UPS 204 may be in connection with the electrical powersupplier 116 (FIG. 1) via an electrical plug (not shown). The UPS 204may also be in connection with the network connection device 106. Inother embodiments, the network enabled devices 202 may be directlyconnected to the network connection device 106. The network connectiondevice 106 may be a modem, receiver, or any other device that isconnected to a network, such as the service provider network 102 throughthe access node 104. For example, the UPS 204 may provide initial powerto the network enabled devices 202 when a power outage occurs, followedby power over network electrical power when the UPS 204 terminates,therefore providing approximately uninterrupted electrical power to thenetwork enabled devices 202 during a power outage.

The network enabled devices 202 may include any number of differentdevices such as security alarms 206, personal data devices 208,televisions 210, video systems 212, desktop computers 214, mobilecomputers 216, telephones 218, and any other devices that may beconnected to a network. Additionally, some devices may be connected tothe network connection device 106 which are not network enabled devices202. For example, the television 210, a video camera 220, or an audiosystem 222 may not be network enabled, but may still be in connectionwith the network connection device 106 and thus may receive electricalpower from the network connection device 106.

The network enabled devices 202 may be connected to either the UPS 204or the network connection device 106 by a network cable 224, such as anEthernet cable or any other networking cable which has the capability totransmit computer and informational network data and supply electricalpower to the network enabled devices 202. Additionally, standardelectrical cables (not shown) may be used to connect non-network enableddevices to either the UPS 204 or the network connection device 106, suchas by an electrical plug.

FIG. 3 illustrates an overall environment 300 including entities 302 incommunication with the NMS 112 via a communication link 304. Thecommunication link 304 may be a wired, Wi-Fi, voice, or other networkingconnection, or via any other communication link including both manualand system based communication means. Moreover, the communication link304 may be any combination thereof. The entities 302 may include localauthorities 306 such as the police and fire departments, securitycompanies 308, a national security agency (NSA) 310, or other entitiesthat may benefit by information regarding the customer premise 108 thathas been disconnected from power by its primary power supplier, such asthe electrical power supplier 116. Additionally, the NMS 112 may be inconnection with the electrical power supplier 116 via the communicationlink 304. Therefore, when the primary source of electrical power isdisconnected between the customer premise 108 and the electrical powersupplier 116, a notification message and data may be sent to any of theentities 302 or the electrical power supplier 116. Further, thecommunication link 304 between the NMS 112, the entities 302, and theelectrical power supplier 116 may be multidirectional.

An example communication sequence resulting from a power outage will nowbe presented for exemplary purposes in accordance with someconfigurations of the power over network methods and systems. In theenvironment 300 shown in FIG. 3, the customer premise 108 may includethe network enabled device 202 (FIG. 2), such as the security system206, in connection with both the electrical power supplier 116 and theservice provider network 102, via the access node 104 and the networkconnection device 106. A power outage inducing event may occur whichdisconnects the power supply between the electrical power supplier 116and the customer premise 108 at the disconnection point 120, such as atree falling on a power line and breaking it. The security system 206(FIG. 2) or other suitable component, typically a component located atthe customer premise 108, may detect the termination of power from thesupplier 116 and may switch from the electrical power supplier 116 tothe network connection device 106 for electrical power. According tofurther embodiments, the network connection device 106 detectsinterruption of primary power from the supplier 116 to the customerpremise 108 and, in response, provides power to the customer premise.After the security system 206 or other suitable component switches tothe network connection device 106 as a power supply, a message (notshown) may be transmitted along communication links 124, 122, 110 to theNMS 112 to indicate that the customer premise 108 has experienced apower outage. This message may be forwarded by the NMS 112 to otherentities 302 such as the local authorities 306, the security company308, the NSA 310, and the electrical power supplier 116.

Generally, any of the functions described herein can be implementedusing software, firmware (e.g., fixed logic circuitry), hardware, manualprocessing, or any combination of these implementations. The terms“module,” “functionality,” and “logic” generally represent software,firmware, hardware, or any combination thereof. In the case of asoftware implementation, the module, functionality, or logic representsprogram code that performs specified tasks when executed on processor(s)(e.g., any of microprocessors, controllers, and the like). The programcode can be stored in one or more computer readable memory devices.Further, the features and aspects described herein areplatform-independent such that the techniques may be implemented on avariety of commercial computing platforms having a variety ofprocessors.

Methods and systems for providing electrical power in accordance withthe teachings of the present disclosure may be described in the generalcontext of computer executable instructions. Generally, computerexecutable instructions can include routines, programs, objects,components, data structures, procedures, modules, functions, and thelike that perform particular functions or implement particular abstractdata types. The methods may also be practiced in a distributed computingenvironment where functions are performed by remote processing devicesthat are linked through a communications network. In a distributedcomputing environment, computer executable instructions may be locatedin both local and remote computer storage media, including memorystorage devices.

FIG. 4 illustrates an overall environment 400 in which computing devicesinteract to pass information from a first entity to a second entity. Afirst computing device 402 may interact with a second computing device404 in connection by a network 406. The computing devices 402, 404 maybe a server; a desktop; a mobile, handheld, or laptop computer; a mobiletelephone; a personal digital assistant (PDA), a multi-function device;or any other suitable computer-based device. The computing devices 402,404 may be connected by any type of wired or wireless network 406,including a local or wide area network. FIG. 4 depicts two computingdevices 402, 404 for convenience only, but it is noted that theenvironment 400 may support any number of computing devices 402, 404 inconnection by one or more networks 406.

The first computing device 402 may include a number of components 408.These components 408 may include one or more processors 410 that arecoupled to instances of a user interface (UI) 412. The UI 412 representsany devices and related drivers that enable the computing device 402 toreceive input from a user or other system, and to provide output to theuser or other system. Thus, to receive inputs, the UI 412 may includekeyboards or keypads, mouse devices, touch screens, microphones, speechrecognition packages, imaging systems, or the like. Similarly, toprovide outputs, the UI 412 may include speakers, display screens,printing mechanisms, or the like.

The computing device 402 may include one or more instances of acomputer-readable storage medium 414 that are addressable by theprocessor 410. As such, the processor 410 may read data or executableinstructions from, or store data to, the storage medium 414. The storagemedium 414 may contain a number of modules 416, such as modules A, B, C,which may be implemented as one or more software modules that, whenloaded into the processor 410 and executed, cause the computing device402 to perform any of the functions described herein, such as to performpower over network methods and systems in accordance with embodiments ofthe present disclosure. Additionally, the storage medium 414 may containimplementations of any of the various software modules described herein.

In some embodiments, the first computing device 402 is connected to theNMS 112 and collects and processes data from activities occurring on theservice provider network 102 (FIG. 2). As shown in FIG. 4, the firstcomputing device 402 may include (or be coupled to) a data storagedevice 418. For example, the data storage device 418 may archiveactivities and data, or a portion of the activities and data, from theservice provider network 102 for use by the NMS 112. While FIG. 4 showsone data storage device 418 for convenience, the environment 400 maysupport any number of data storage devices 418.

As previously described, the second computing device 404 is incommunication with the first computing device 402 through the network406. The second computing device 404 may include a number of components420. The second computing device 404 may include one or more processors422 that are coupled to instances of a user interface (UI) 424. The UI424 represents any devices and related drivers that enable the secondcomputing device 404 to receive inputs from a user or other system, andto provide outputs to the user or other system. The second computingdevice 404 may include one or more instances of a computer-readablestorage medium 426 that are addressable by the processor 422. As such,the processor 422 may read data or executable instructions from, orstore data to, the storage medium 426. The storage medium 426 maycontain a number of modules 428, such as modules X, Y, Z, which may beimplemented as one or more software modules that, when loaded into theprocessor 422 and executed, cause the second computing device 404 toperform any of the functions described herein, such as perform powerover network methods and systems. Additionally, the storage medium 426may contain implementations of any of the various software modulesdescribed herein.

In some embodiments, the second computing device 404 is connected to oneof the entities 302 in communication with the NMS 112. The secondcomputing device 404 may receive data from the first computing devicerelated to activities occurring on the network, such as a power outageat a customer premise 108. In other embodiments, the second computingdevice 404 may be connected to the service provider network 102 andprovide the first computing device 402 with data relating to theactivities, status, and other relevant data occurring on the serviceprovider network 102.

Having presented the above overview of the environment 400, thediscussion now turns to a description of further details of the overallenvironment 400. More specifically, FIG. 5 illustrates a flow diagram500 of methods or systems of providing electrical power over a network.At block 502, the flow diagram begins. At block 504, a subscriber deviceis disconnected from its primary electrical power source. For example,the network enabled device 202 may be disconnected from the electricalpower supplier 116 because a power line is broken. At block 506, thesubscriber device may automatically begin a power over networkelectrical power backup. In further embodiments, a user may given theoption to receive power over a network. In some embodiments, the powerover network electrical power backup may be provided by the serviceprovider network 102 or access node 104. At block 508, an alarm maynotify the subscriber of the power outage, such as by providing anaudible signal to the subscriber that the primary power source has beendisconnected. At block 510, the NMS 112 may be notified of the poweroutage. The NMS 112 may be notified of the power outage by a messagesent from the network connection device 106, for example, when thenetwork connection device 106 begins supplying electrical power to anynetwork enabled devices 202, or other electrical devices, which areconnected to the network connection device 106.

In some embodiments, at block 512, the subscriber may begin a power overnetwork electrical power backup service. In some embodiments, the backupservice may be fee-based, non-fee-based, or a combination of both. Forexample, in some embodiments, the backup service may initially be freeof charge to the subscriber, but after a predetermined elapse of time orpower consumption, the free power over network electrical power backupservice at block 506 may expire. Subscribers may elect in advance or inthe moment to pay subscription fees, or may make other agreements tohave continued backup power supplied to the customer when a power outageoccurs. For example, a subscriber may pay by the minute for the use ofthe power over network electrical power backup service. In otherembodiments, the subscriber may switch from a free power backup to afee-based power backup after a predetermined amount of electrical poweris consumed by the subscriber.

At block 514, the primary electrical power is restored, thus ending thepower outage. For example, the power disconnect 120 may be repaired byelectrical workers, thus restoring electrical power from the electricalpower supplier 116 to the customer premise 108 and ultimately thenetwork enabled devices 202. The network enabled devices 202, or otherdevices drawing electrical power from the network connection device 106,may then automatically switch back to the primary power source at block516. Therefore, the network communication device 106 may stop supplyingelectrical power to network enabled devices 202 at block 516. At block518, the power over network backup services (fee-based or otherwise) maybe concluded, and fees may be calculated, such as by the first computingdevice 402, and billed to the subscriber if fee-based services areimplemented in flow diagram 500.

FIG. 6 illustrates a flow diagram 600 of other methods or systems ofproviding power over network. At block 602, the flow diagram begins. Ablock 604, the process selects a subscriber. For example, the nextsubscriber may be the customer premise 108 in connection to the serviceprovider network 102. At block 606, the status of the subscriber isdetermined. The status determination may query whether the subscriberhas primary electrical power, such as that supplied by the electricalpower supplier 116. For example, the network connection device 106 maydetermine a power outage has occurred, and next may communicate a poweroutage message to the NMS 112.

At decision block 608, the status is reported by the subscriber, such asby a message indicating whether the subscriber has primary electricalpower. If the subscriber does not have power, then the subscriber isadded to an aggregate at block 610. The aggregate may be data stored ata computer device, such as the computer device 402. The data may beprocessed, such as by the processor 410 or stored, such as in thestorage device 418 or in the storage medium 414. If the subscriber haspower at decision block 608, then route 612 diverts the process to block614. For example, if a customer accidentally disables the primary powerfor their customer premise 108, such as by blowing a fuse, then theaggregate for an access node may only include that single customerpremise because the other customer premises 108 would not bedisconnected from electrical power. However, if a power line is broken,many customer premises may be disconnected from electrical power and theaggregate may compile information on each disconnected customer premise108.

At decision block 614, the process checks to see if another subscriberexists. If another subscriber exists, the process is diverted 616 toblock 604 to obtain information on this additional subscriber. If nomore subscribers are present, then at block 618, the subscriber statusdata is outputted. For example, the aggregate subscriber data relatingto power outages may be outputted from the first computing device 402utilized by the NMS 112 over the network connection 406 to the secondcomputing device 404 utilized by the entity 302 or the electrical powersupplier 116. In some embodiments, a report may be automaticallygenerated to determine which of the customer premises 108 areexperiencing a power outage, and the report may be transmitted to theappropriate entity 302 which may benefit from such information. Further,the entities 302 may subscribe to data delivery services such as thosedescribed above. Therefore, the first computing device 402 may recordoutputs of data, reports, or information relating to subscribers, suchas by storing data in the storage medium 414 or the data storage 418,and bill any of the entities 302 or the electrical power suppliers 116who are provided the data, reports, or information.

At block 620, the aggregate may be reset. For example, when all of thesubscribers for a region have been checked, the aggregate informationmay be stored and then reset to allow for another iteration of statuschecks of all the subscribers in a region, or portion thereof. Atdecision block 622, the process determines if a new iteration should beinitiated. If a new iteration is requested, the process is diverted 624to block 602 to initiate the iteration. If a new iteration is notrequested, the process ends a block 626.

It is noted that the various modules shown herein may be implemented inhardware, software, or any combination thereof. Additionally, thesemodules are shown as separate items only for convenience of referenceand description, and these representations do not limit possibleimplementations of the teachings herein. Instead, various functionsdescribed with these modules could be combined or separated asappropriate in a given implementation, without departing from the scopeand spirit of the description herein.

Although techniques for providing power over network methods and systemshave been described in language specific to certain features andmethods, it is to be understood that the features defined in theappended claims are not necessarily limited to the specific features andmethods described. Rather, the specific features and methods aredisclosed as illustrative forms of implementing the claimed subjectmatter.

1. A system for utilizing data network power comprising: a primary powerconnector for receiving power from a primary power source; a powereddata network connector for receiving power from a remote data networkand providing data connectivity with the remote data network; and apower switch connected to the primary power connector and the powereddata network connector for detecting interruption of power from theprimary power source and switching to power from the remote datanetwork.
 2. The system of claim 1, wherein the powered data networkconnector includes an Ethernet network connection.
 3. The system ofclaim 1, further comprising a computer readable medium configured torecord power consumption through the powered data network connector. 4.The system of claim 1, further comprising a transmitter forcommunicating to the remote data network through the powered datanetwork connector information associated with the detecting of theinterruption of power from the primary power source.
 5. The system ofclaim 1, further comprising an uninterruptible power supply (UPS)connected to the power switch.
 6. The system of claim 1, furthercomprising a local connector for providing only power to a local device.7. The system of claim 1, further comprising a local connector forproviding power and data connectivity to a local device.
 8. The systemof claim 1, wherein the powered data network connector is configured toreceive power from the remote data network supplied from at least oneof: a backup battery; a generator; a connection to an electric powersupplier other than the primary power source; and a connection to anetwork service provider with auxiliary electrical power.
 9. A method ofutilizing power from a remote data network comprising: monitoringprimary electrical power provided by a primary power source to a networkdevice connected to a data network; detecting an interruption of theprimary electrical power from the primary power source; responsive todetecting the interruption of the primary electrical power, switching tosecondary electrical power from the data network; detecting an end tothe interruption of the primary electrical power; and responsive todetecting the end to the interruption of the primary electrical power,switching back to the primary electrical power from the primary powersource.
 10. The method of claim 9, further comprising connecting thenetwork device to the data network through a network access point forbidirectional digital communications, and wherein the network devicereceives the secondary electrical power from a secondary power sourcecoupled to the data network and positioned remotely from the networkaccess point.
 11. The method of claim 9, wherein switching to thesecondary electrical power includes initiating a power meter reading,and wherein switching back to the primary electrical power includesterminating a power meter reading.
 12. The method of claim 11, whereinthe power meter reading measures one of the time of secondary powerusage and the wattage of secondary power usage.
 13. The method of claim9, wherein the secondary electrical power is received from a networkbackup power supply.
 14. The method of claim 9, wherein switching to asecondary electrical power occurs automatically when an interruption ofthe primary electrical power is detected.
 15. The method of claim 9,wherein switching to a secondary electrical power occurs automaticallywhen an interruption of the primary electrical power is detected andremains switched responsive to user interaction.
 16. The method of claim9, further comprising determining whether the subscriber has subscribedto the power over a network service, the service including switching tothe secondary power source when the interruption of the primaryelectrical power is detected.
 17. The method of claim 9, wherein sensingan interruption of the primary electrical power includes recording powerinterruption data in a computer readable media.
 18. One or morecomputer-readable media comprising computer executable instructionsthat, when executed by a computer, perform a method of providing a powerinterruption notification comprising: sensing a power interruption at afirst location operatively coupled to a data network configured tofacilitate digital communication; determining a power consumption statusat a second location; compiling an aggregate power status for one ormore locations operatively coupled to the data network within a range oflocations; and outputting power interruption information to a monitoringstation operatively coupled to the data network.
 19. The method of claim18, wherein outputting power interruption information includesinterfacing to disparate systems.
 20. The method of claim 18, whereincompiling aggregate power status includes demographic accrual.